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11 Home Improvements That Do Not Add Value in the UK Market
Turning your home from the place you first bought into something that really reflects your use and taste is an exciting part of home ownership, however, too many home improvements that do not add value can become extremely costly.
The truth is that not all home improvements are equal, and future buyers may see your ideas as off-putting rather than enticing. Considering the level of investment a renovation represents, it's important that you make wise decisions regarding the changes to your home.
At Clifton Private Finance we’ve been helping our clients fund their home improvements for many years, and while we’ve seen a great number of refurbishments that have greatly improved the property’s value, we’ve also heard tales of quite a few duds. So let's run through some of the common home improvements that actually don't add value to a property.
11 Home Improvements That Usually Do Not Add Value
Taste is subjective and if you do find the right buyer, then we’re happy to be proven wrong, but the following are some of the changes that are more likely to lead to less interest and a drop in market value than not.
1. A Garage Conversion That Takes Parking Away
At some point, a professional architect considered the location’s parking and thought ‘this house would benefit from a garage’. If, over time, you’ve been content with parking on the drive or road, and have found the garage filled up with boxes, it’s tempting to think ‘we don’t use this, let’s convert it’.
That temptation is a lot stronger if you’re thinking that the trip to the gym is a bit far, or that you’d really enjoy a new man cave.
But the truth is, the architect who put it there in the first place was probably right. Stripping away this off-street parking that offers a potential buyer some extra security, a place to install an EV charging point, and the opportunity for cheaper insurance is not always the best idea.
Leave the garage as a garage and look to extend in other areas.
2. An Outside Swimming Pool
Take a look outside. Is it raining? And if it’s not, was it raining last week? Will it rain next week?
The truth is, with our wonderful British weather, digging up the garden to fit a swimming pool is a luxury that’s not really going to boost your property’s value.
Yes, a swimming pool is fantastic when it is hot (though you’ll probably be facing a hosepipe ban) but it’s only the right weather for relaxing outside for a swim a very small percentage of the time. Mostly, you’re indoors. Sadly, swimming pools just don’t suit our climate.
Buyers will see your swimming pool, think ‘wow!’, but then quickly consider the effort in keeping it maintained and clean vs. the amount of time they’ll spend in it and move on, especially if it comes at the cost of a decent lawn. Great if you live on the Mediterranean coast, though.
3. Over-Luxurious Bathrooms
This one’s a fine line issue. A good bathroom does add value, and a beautiful bathroom doubly so. But, tip over the edge and you’re spending more than you’re gaining.
As with all of the items on this list, there are exceptions. If you have a seventeen-bedroom luxury mansion, then, yes, convert one into an extra luxury bathroom. It’s not going to hurt the market value! But turning a four-bed semi-detached with a serviceable bathroom into a three-bed semi with a really incongruous bathing area suitable for a Roman emperor is not helpful.
4. No Bath
Flipping the bathroom thing on its head (and risking a flood!), taking away the only bath is another potential mistake. Yes, it might be rarely used, and yes, showers may be sufficient, but taking away the only bath alienates both families and people who have the time and affection for a bath.
Even if your potential buyers have no real plans to have a bath, they may want to have the option to do so. A house with only a squashy shower room, perhaps to squeeze in an equally squashy bedroom, isn’t appealing; it feels cut down and cheap.
5. Stamping Your Personal Taste
It’s your home, so it’s only right that it should reflect your taste and form your personal sanctuary, but there’s no need to push this structurally.
Personal taste is good for decoration and owned items. Have some flowery wallpaper here, or a cabinet for collected figurines there, but renovating the property in such a way that your personal taste doesn’t leave when you do is likely to impact market value. That means:
- Not cutting through floors for a fireman’s pole because it’s quirky.
- Avoiding reshaping rooms to evoke an ‘oriental vibe’.
- Resisting the urge to carve gargoyles into the exterior.
- Keeping standard doors and not hiding rooms behind bookshelves like it’s Scooby Doo.
It may sound boring, but standard rooms with a door and four walls (L-shapes are OK) work a lot better than carving the house into circles because it looked great in Lord of the Rings.
If you can’t undo it quickly, it’s best not to do it.
6. Built-In Technology
Technology, even the very best technology, becomes obsolete in time. With the rapid rate of technological upgrades in the modern world, it fades from relevance very quickly. Don’t let your property be tied to it.
Buyers will have to spend extra money stripping out old cables, removing defunct wall boxes, and patching the holes left behind. Better to accept that things change and keep the tech portable, leaving the house to be just a house.
7. Huge Open Plan Layouts
The fashions for home layouts ebb and flow. During recent decades, widening living spaces so that kitchen and living room are all one open plan space grew in popularity, aided by TV shows that depicted happy couples chatting over wine, one enjoying the roaring fireplace, the other prepping dinner.
Renovating your house to knock through from dining room to kitchen - or, in some extreme cases, from bedroom through to bathroom - no longer has the market-wide appeal it once did. Keep to a layout that prioritises usable space and your property’s value is in safe hands.
8. Losing Bedrooms for Lifestyle Spaces
There’s a genuine reason for using the smallest bedroom as a home office for many; it’s a common room repurposing that has no negative impact because:
- it can be undone easily (just put a bed back in there!)
- it has no structural impact
- it has no real cost implication
Plus, importantly, when it comes to the estate agent listing, it will still be listed as a bedroom.
Changes that are long-term and not easily reversed, however, present a problem that buyers will almost always see and think ‘we need to turn that space back into a bedroom’. Consider:
- Walls knocked through to extend a main bedroom by using a smaller bedroom as a walk-in wardrobe or dressing area.
- Home gyms that have reinforced structures and bolted-in equipment.
- Larger home offices that have required structural changes.
- Home cinema rooms that include built-in technology (see 6) as well as construction work.
- Bedrooms converted into additional toilets or shower rooms.
The number of bedrooms in your property is a vital selling point. Removing one almost always lowers market value.
9. Poorly Constructed Conservatories
Well-considered and professionally constructed, a conservatory is often a boost to market value. Potential buyers will be able to imagine themselves relaxing in a warm, brightly lit space.
Unfortunately, not all conservatories are as inviting. A conservatory that’s poorly constructed will show quickly:
- Low quality materials that look plasticky and cheap rather than luxurious.
- Chilly breezes or leaks that can be felt even on a quick walk-around.
- Floors that are hard and cold rather than comforting.
- A lack of power, especially on the far side.
- Poor lighting or heating.
- Ineffective window coverings, resulting in poor insulation.
When investing in a conservatory, it is essential that you do not cut any corners. A few hundred pounds’ saving in construction can shave thousands off your final house price when you come to sell.
10. Removing Original or Period Features
A drive to ‘modernise’ your home can mean that you take a look at that old fireplace, or the coving and picture rail, or even the internal doors and think ‘they’re old and a bit rubbish’. You strip them out, take a trip to Ikea and give your new home a clean-lined modern feel.
Oh dear.
Almost universally, potential buyers will want the original or period features, insisting they bring ‘charm’ to the property. They may be right, they may be wrong, but they want to be able to make the choice to cover them up with a bit of furniture or enjoy them as originally designed.
Major construction work that destroys original features should be avoided, or at least very well considered before going forward. It is especially noticeable if half the property keeps those touches and the other half has been modernised, or if your house is the only one in the street that’s lacking those period details.
Period features do sell homes, so unless there’s a real need to remove them, they’re best left in place.
11. Renovations That Cut Corners
If you’re going to do work on your property, do it properly. Renovations that mask underlying problems and don’t actually solve them will be discovered in valuations and surveys and will erode trust from your buyer. There are many examples of this, including:
- A kitchen renovation that looks beautiful but doesn’t repair the underlying plumbing (which still clogs regularly).
- A bathroom refurbishment that slaps paint onto areas of recurring damp, meaning it’ll creep through next winter.
- Replastering in an attempt to hide subsidence.
- Putting in an extension without considering energy efficiency or insulation.
Your home improvements should always improve your home - not hide its problems.
4 Home Improvements That Often Do Add Value
Of course, not all renovations are bad. The right work will lead to a better home for you to live in and provide a return on your investment when you do eventually sell.
1. Loft Conversions
Your loft space is often the best place to look for home improvement value. Loft conversions are available in a wide range of styles and levels, from the simple improvement of a floor and some Velux windows, through to a major Mansard conversion, which raises the roof and rewards you with an entirely new storey on your home.
It’s important to plan thoroughly for your loft conversion and use reliable, experienced builders. As described above, doing the work professionally is essential to get that all-important return and boost your property’s value. Loft conversions can:
- Expand important storage space
- Provide an additional bedroom (or even two)
- Add an extra bathroom
- Give you a purpose-built home office
Consideration needs to be made for access, safety, and energy efficiency, with regulations in place that cover the whole project; they are significant projects that need to be properly budgeted and funded. Once complete, however, a loft conversion can greatly improve your market value.
2. Adding an Extra Bathroom or Toilet
An extra bathroom brings immediate value to any buyer and is immediately noticeable on a viewing. Families consider second bathrooms and toilet facilities very highly, making them especially relevant to homes with three or more bedrooms.
Bathrooms should be thoughtfully placed, considering maximum potential based on their location - loft-based facilities, for example, are typically only ever used by those with bedrooms in the same extension. For a true return, additional bathrooms need to add functionality, and not just become a check box to tick off.
Home extension specialists Resi suggest that adding a bathroom can add 4-5% to the value of your home, equating to £13,500 on an average UK home (based on 2025 property prices).
3. Boosting Your Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency is a serious consideration for homebuyers in the modern world. Insulation, efficient heating, damp proofing, solar panels, and even air conditioning are all factors that can help increase your property value to potential buyers. Home improvements of this kind are usually incorporated into a larger project, though they are worth considering alone, especially if you plan to live in the home for years before selling.
Energy efficiency improvements will have an immediate impact on your home running costs - not typically enough to justify the cost alone, but when combined with the potential market value uplift, a factor worth thinking about.
4. Kitchen Refurbishments
Kitchens age more than most other areas of the home. Under constant daily use, often having to resist splashes and larger water spills alongside temperature fluctuations, and with equipment that has a shorter life cycle than may be expected, the kitchen is somewhere worth concentrating on for pure upgrade and refresh projects.
It’s important not to over-spec with luxury refits that have a significant cost but don’t provide equal returns, but a well-designed and thought-out kitchen will entice potential buyers as well as improving your quality of life in the meantime.
Planning for Living and Accessibility in Old Age
A niche home improvement that may not add a direct increase to property value but has other implications are those to do with accessibility. This includes:
- Converting bathrooms to walk-in-showers for ease of use
- Widening doorways and corridors for wheelchair access
- Improving lighting and contrast to help those with sight impairments
- Adding lifts for upstairs access
- Converting downstairs spaces to allow for bedrooms and bathrooms
- Adding ramps and safe paths in gardens and for external access
As well as improving the space for yourself or older family members, accessibility improvements widen your pool of potential buyers, appealing to those in retirement or families caring for a grandparent. They should not form a plan for developers looking to flip property, but remain a sensible option for forward-thinking homeowners intending to remain in the home into old age.
Funding Home Improvements That Add Real Value
At Clifton Private Finance, our property finance specialists are available to help you get the best finance for your home improvements. By discussing your plans with us, we can help you understand the options available, compare products from the wide range of lenders in the UK marketplace, and work for you to smooth your preparation and enjoy a confident application process.
1. Bridging Loan: Flexible, Short-Term Funding for Unrestricted Renovations
Bridging finance is a powerful tool for homeowners looking to move quickly with repairs and renovations. Designed for short-term use, bridging finance is excellent for those making developments with the intention of immediately selling on, or for repairs on properties that may not meet strict mortgage approval.
Structured with a single exit-based repayment rather than a monthly schedule, bridging finance offers flexible capital that’s typically repaid once the property is sold or through mortgage-based long-term refinancing.
Bridging finance means:
- Instant access to large sums of capital
- No monthly repayments
- No penalty on early repayment
- LTV-based capital leveraged on existing equity
- Flexible, equity-based application criteria
- Exit strategy structure
- Access to funding for rundown or uninhabitable properties
Specialist bridging finance is flexible and quick to obtain. Speak to the Clifton Private Finance bridging team to explore your options.
Get Your Free Bridging Loan Quote »
2. Remortgage: Full Combined Financing for Home Improvements
For many homeowners, a remortgage represents the best value loan to invest in home improvements. Secured on your home, a remortgage will have the advantages of a competitive rate and a flexible term length to help keep monthly repayments manageable.
Remortgaging means:
- You can choose the best rate from the full range of UK lenders
- You do not have to remain with your current lender - although you can if you prefer
- Your existing mortgage is paid off and replaced with the new mortgage
- You get a new mortgage rate
- You can obtain the funds needed for your home improvement (based on property equity)
- You can look to increase the mortgage for extra cash for other uses
- You have one single monthly repayment
Remortgages involve a full mortgage application which can be lengthy and includes a full affordability check. There is also the possibility you will have to pay early repayment charges on your existing mortgage if ending a fixed term early.
Find the Perfect Remortgage Deal »
3. Homeowner Loans: Secured Loans for Low Rates
A homeowner loan is a personal loan that is secured on your home. Unlike a remortgage, a homeowner loan doesn’t affect your existing mortgage, and sits alongside with its own payment terms and interest rate.
A homeowner loan is an excellent way to fund home improvements. Because they are considered a secured loan by lenders, they tend to have lower interest rates and can be used for larger sums of money than unsecured personal loans.
A homeowner loan means:
- Access to competitive interest rates
- No effect on your existing mortgage
- Repayment terms to suit your needs, from short-term (usually 3-5 years) to long-term (15+ years) arrangements
- Able to provide the funds needed to pay for your renovations (based on property equity)
- Simpler application process than a full remortgage
A homeowner loan is useful for homeowners who do not want to change their current mortgage rate, or when there are early repayment charges on an existing mortgage.
Find the Perfect Homeowner Loan »
4. Additional Borrowing on Mortgage: Extending Your Current Terms
Some mortgages can be extended to provide the funds needed for home improvements. This is known as ‘additional borrowing’ or a ‘further advance’ on your existing mortgage.
Simpler than a remortgage, additional borrowing has some of the advantages of a remortgage, including a potentially lower interest rate, while often avoiding early repayment charges.
Additional borrowing means:
- Competitive mortgage rates
- No effect on your existing mortgage
- Can provide the full funds needed for home improvement (based on property equity)
- Typically sidesteps early repayment charges
Additional borrowing is always with your existing lender, meaning options are limited, but can offer a simpler application and affordability testing process.
5. Equity Release: Lifetime Mortgages for Retired Homeowners
Equity release covers a range of products for homeowners over 55 to obtain funding secured by your property. The most common form of equity release is a lifetime mortgage.
Unlike a remortgage or homeowner loan, a lifetime mortgage has no monthly repayment but is repaid in a single lump sum by your estate upon passing. It does not require you to have an income and there are no affordability tests or credit score-based application criteria.
A lifetime mortgage offers retired homeowners a way to unlock the capital stored in your home, providing you with the funds you need for a home improvement project, whether the goal is to increase its value before downsizing, or to make necessary adjustments for accessibility in later life.
A lifetime mortgage means:
- No need for earnings
- No monthly repayments
- Mortgage balance plus interest repaid upon your death or move into full-time residential care
- Funds provided based on your property value
- Full guarantee of residency for life
A lifetime mortgage is fully regulated and includes mandatory independent legal advice.
Home Improvement Loans with Clifton Private Finance
At Clifton Private Finance, we work with the full marketplace of UK banks and lenders to explore the best products to suit your needs. We will compare products, evaluating rates and flexibility to help you make an informed decision regarding the best path for your home improvement funding.
Contact us today and speak to an expert advisor to discuss your plans for home renovations and the options available to you. Together we can get the funding in place to improve your home and boost your property’s value for future buyers.
